The weekend started out hot. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the Oregon softball team was poised to turn around its lingering season.
And, if only for a day, hope was in Oregon’s dugout.
The Ducks swept San Jose State in a Friday doubleheader, outscoring the Spartans 13-2, to climb above the .500 mark and roll into Saturday’s Civil War doubleheader with a touch of confidence.
But when the No. 16 Beavers strolled onto Howe Field, the mood changed. From the time sophomore Lisa Wangler threw her first pitch just after 12 p.m. until the Ducks finished tarping the field four hours later, the momentum belonged to the black and orange.
It was like football quarterback Joey Harrington getting drilled all over again.
Oregon State (32-15 overall, 2-5 Pacific-10 Conference) used a seven-run third inning to win the first game 8-0, and sent junior pitcher Connie McMurren home early in an 11-2 romp in the late game.
The Beavers have now won seven straight Civil War contests.
“We don’t have that mental edge right now. We just haven’t figured it out,” said Oregon head coach Rick Gamez, who is now 25-26 overall and 1-7 in the Pac-10. “We need more focus, more fight, especially in the Pac-10. There’s no possible way we can expect to compete like this.”
Three Oregon errors proved costly in the third inning of the first game. Wangler loaded the bases after an error and two singles and gave up an RBI single to Oregon State first baseman Steph Adams, scoring two runs. In 2 2/3 innings, Wangler was responsible for seven runs — three unearned — while walking four. She suffered the loss to fall to 5-7 on the year.
“We had one bad inning in the first game that was the turning point of the entire day,” Gamez said. “It’s tough to try to come back after an inning like that.”
In game one, Oregon State pitcher Crystal Draper allowed just two hits — including a two-out double off the bat of Missy Coe in the bottom of the seventh — and struck out eight in the complete-game shutout. Draper is now 18-8 this season.
“A couple of key hits broke the game open for us,” Oregon State head coach Kirk Walker said. “We capitalized on their mistakes and had some timely hitting.”
Wangler led off game two with a single and scored on an RBI single by Coe to give the Ducks an early 1-0 lead. The Beavers, however, answered with four runs in the top of the second off McMurren and added three more in the third. Defensive struggles again plagued the Ducks, as three of McMurren’s seven runs allowed were unearned.
“Connie has been sick the last few days…she’s a competitor, but she didn’t have it in her today,” Gamez said.
Oregon’s only other run was an Andrea Vidlund fourth-inning homer.

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Shortstop Kate Peterson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to give the Ducks a 9-1 victory over San Jose State in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader.
Wangler didn’t allow a hit in four innings of work to pick up the victory.
Freshman Anissa Meashintubby improved her record to 3-1 while allowing just two hits in five innings in the second game. Meashintubby has a team-best 2.70 ERA.
The Ducks had 10 hits, while allowing just three, in the 4-1 victory against the Spartans.